How you can Get Matching Items Trending at Your Group

Worker matching presents are one of the standard types of company philanthropy. Nonetheless, the supply is broadly untapped, largely because of a lack of know-how surrounding the applications. When you’re trying to drive participation at your group (as a way to maximize funding and elevate donor engagement), it’s time to get matching presents trending amongst supporters.

However how are you going to go about doing so? Begin a buzz round matching presents at your nonprofit with these useful suggestions:

1. Share a weblog put up.
2. Use hashtags on social media.
3. Prioritize video content material.
4. Discover synthetic intelligence and tech for content material creation.
5. Host a real-time Q&A on-line.
6. Think about influencers and peer advocates.
7. Take advantage of free promoting with Google Grants.
8. Sustain with shifting tendencies.

Our hope is that, by incorporating our beneficial practices, matching presents will grow to be a well known and totally utilized supply of assist amongst you and your supporters.

Let’s soar in with our first trick.

1. Share a weblog put up.

Weblog articles are an efficient medium for advertising and marketing matching presents and different worker giving kinds to your
supporters. A well-written put up gives a chance to share an in-depth rationalization of the philanthropy applications, together with exhibiting donors that your group is concentrated on maximizing fundraising from each supply.

Unsure the place to get began? We’ve written the next article that your crew can use to kick off your matching present running a blog technique. From there, you’ll be able to ship a hyperlink to the newly revealed useful resource in your newsletters and different communications to make sure donors learn about this chance to extend their affect.

Company Worker Matching Reward Packages: The Secret to Boosting Income

For nonprofit organizations, each greenback counts. Company worker matching presents supply the chance to show one greenback donated by a match-eligible worker into two, three, and even 4 {dollars}!

Do you know that greater than 26 million workers work for corporations with matching present applications? You could be one in all them!

On this article, we’re going to discover precisely what to anticipate when working with matching presents and the way to profit from this unbelievable fundraising alternative.

What are company matching present applications?

Worker matching present applications are a sort of company philanthropy set as much as encourage workers to present again to their communities. These corporations encourage neighborhood outreach by making donations to the identical nonprofits that their workers have donated to.

These applications have grow to be fairly widespread, however many donors haven’t heard of them or aren’t conscious of their very own match-eligibility. $4-7 billion in matching present income is left on the desk every year, and we need to work with our donors to say as a lot of it as doable.

Whereas the specifics of those applications range from firm to firm, the weather that form these pointers are usually the identical:

• Match ratio: This defines what sort of donation the corporate will make in relation to the worker’s preliminary contribution. A 1:1 ratio signifies that the corporate will donate the very same quantity, doubling the contribution to the worker’s chosen nonprofit.
• Minimal and most: The minimal refers back to the quantity an worker should donate to qualify for an identical present. The utmost is the full quantity that an organization will donate in matching contributions per worker yearly.
• Worker standing: Typically, the worker’s position on the firm can have an effect on the match that they qualify for. For instance, Hole Inc. affords a $1,000 most to part-time workers and a $10,000 most to Senior VP’s.
• Nonprofit eligibility: Some applications supply completely different matches primarily based on the mission of the group being donated to. Nonetheless, most corporations supply “unrestricted” applications the place any registered nonprofit can obtain funds.
• Submission deadline: Each program identifies a deadline when the matching present request have to be submitted by the worker. This deadline will be both a agency date (December thirty first is widespread) or a threshold primarily based on the date of the preliminary donation (90 days after donation is made).

Listed here are just a few examples:

• Johnson & Johnson — Triples donations with a 2:1 match as much as $20,000 for present workers, whereas additionally doubling donations (1:1 match) for retirees
• Financial institution of America — Matches donations 1:1 between $24 and $5,000 yearly per worker
• Dwelling Depot — Matches donations 1:1 as much as $3,000 yearly per worker

The affect of those applications will be substantial! Actually, Microsoft has been recognized to match over $48 million value of worker donations to varsities and 501(c)(3) nonprofits in a single 12 months.

Need to assist [your organization’s name]?

Growing income with matching presents isn’t too difficult, however we want our donors’ assist. Final 12 months we obtained [insert number] matching presents, which helped us increase [insert dollar amount]. We’ve set a aim of elevating [insert dollar amount] from these applications.

If we meet our aim, we’ll be capable of higher [insert organization’s mission and how the organization would use the additional funding].

You possibly can assist us attain these objectives by looking for your individual match-eligibility. Instantly assess your eligibility and acquire entry to detailed details about your employer’s company giving program by looking out our database of corporations with matching present applications [link to your dedicated matching gifts page or Double the Donation hosted URL].

We’ll give you as a lot of the next as doable:

• Up-to-date, company-specific program pointers in your employer
• Hyperlinks to the proper on-line matching present request kinds or downloadable PDFs
• Our contact info (Tax ID, handle, fundraising contact), which you will want in your matching present request

If your organization isn’t listed, be certain that to verify along with your firm’s HR division. We respect you taking a couple of minutes to double the affect of your donation!

In the meantime, should you select to put in writing a weblog put up from scratch, we advocate:

• Offering an outline of worker matching present and/or volunteer grant applications
• Sharing examples of corporations that provide worker giving applications
• Explaining the constructive affect these further funds could have in your group’s work
• Requesting that donors and volunteers seek for their employer’s matching present info utilizing your matching present search software from Double the Donationa

2. Use hashtags on social media.

Your group probably depends on social media as a core tenet of your digital advertising and marketing technique. However do you’ve gotten a plan in place to maximise your attain and engagement on key networking platforms?

Analysis signifies that incorporating hashtags in your posts goes a good distance by way of visibility, viewers engagement, and extra. A hashtag, which is basically an octothorpe image adopted by a key phrase or phrase, is a social media software used to arrange posts primarily based on content material subject. And together with a number of in your postings can drive engagement by as much as 100% in comparison with posts with out hashtags.

In your subsequent social media put up about matching presents in your group, contemplate using just a few associated hashtags and see how your viewers responds. Listed here are just a few examples you need to use:

• #match
• #matchinggifts
• #doubleyourdonation
• #donationmatch
• #amplifyingimpact
• #[nonprofit name]matchinggifts
• #getyourgiftmatched
• #nonprofitmatching
• #matchingdonations
• #corporatematching
• #doyoumatch
• #doublethelove
• #corporatephilanthropy
• #employeegiving
• #makeyourmatch

It’s additionally vital to notice that the way in which you employ hashtags can and will range relying on the social platforms you employ. For instance, research present that Tweets with 1-2 hashtags see greater than twice as a lot engagement as these with out hashtags. However Tweets with greater than two hashtags truly see a drop in engagement.

In the meantime, the most-interacted-with Instagram posts sometimes embrace 11+ hashtags!

In line with content material advertising and marketing analysis for nonprofits, video content material is without doubt one of the most important parts of an optimized engagement plan. Actually, 66% of people discover short-form movies to be essentially the most participating sort of fabric revealed on social media.

To not point out, of a corporation’s viewers…

• Over 75% discover movies helpful when figuring out whether or not to present;
• 57% then go on to donate;
• 39% purposefully analysis the nonprofit inside 24 hours of watching a video.

Within the age of YouTube, Vimeo, TikTok, Snapchat, and extra, video-sharing is turning into an more and more integral a part of nonprofit advertising and marketing. And in the case of matching presents, producing video content material can play a important position in informing and galvanizing motion amongst donors.

For instance, try this exemplary matching present video that demonstrates the benefit with which a donor can full the method to amplify their affect on behalf of a trigger they care about:

As soon as that they had the video created, the group opted to share the content material on each its web site and social media channels to additional its attain.

Check out the Fb put up right here:

Need to make your individual video? Right here’s a pattern script you need to use to get began:

“Growing income with matching presents isn’t too difficult, however we want our donors’ assist. Final 12 months we collected $[total revenue] value of matching presents. This 12 months, we’d wish to obtain much more. We’ve set a aim to lift over $[revenue goal] from these applications by the tip of the 12 months. If we meet our aim, we’ll be capable of [summary of your nonprofit mission and/or specific project or programming].

You possibly can assist us attain these objectives by looking for your individual match eligibility. Instantly assess your eligibility and acquire entry to detailed details about your employer’s company giving program. All you need to do is search our database of corporations with matching present applications. Click on the hyperlink within the caption [to your organization’s dedicated matching gift page] to study extra.”

4. Discover synthetic intelligence and know-how for content material creation.

A major roadblock going through all kinds of nonprofits is a scarcity of effort and time devoted to their advertising and marketing methods⁠—particularly in the case of matching presents. Actually, Nonprofits Supply finds that over 80% of nonprofits report problem constructing robust office giving methods because of restricted employees and assets.

One distinctive and revolutionary answer? Synthetic intelligence and good know-how.

AI-powered instruments are at the moment sweeping the nation, notably in regard to manufacturers streamlining content material creation whereas placing extra time again into the fingers of employees members. To supply some examples of how this may affect matching presents, we examined just a few synthetic intelligence instruments to see what they may provide you with.

Right here’s a pattern social media caption written by one AI chatbot software, ChatGPT (from the emojis to the hashtags and all the pieces in between):

“Do you know that matching presents can double and even triple your affect as a donor? 💰💸 Not solely does this profit your favourite nonprofit, however it additionally exhibits your employer’s dedication to supporting causes that matter to their workers. 🤝 Study extra concerning the energy of matching presents and how one can become involved to make a distinction as we speak!

#MatchingGifts #DoubleYourImpact #NonprofitImpact”

To not point out, our very personal 360MatchPro may help streamline donor communications whereas sustaining focused and customized efforts. With this software, you’ll be able to simply acquire and observe donor employment information, establish match-eligible donations, and set off automated electronic mail follow-ups that drive extra matching presents to completion. And it could all happen with out your fundraising crew having to carry a finger!

And what higher method to take action than with a real-time Q&A session? In line with current live-streaming analysis, real-time content material generates 27% extra watch time per viewer than on-demand video. Customers like interacting with their favourite organizations, and doing in order a nonprofit may help facilitate deeper relationships with donors. Actually, 79% of entrepreneurs point out {that a} extra genuine interplay with their viewers is a high profit of live-streamed video.

When you’ll probably goal to reply plenty of questions in any pre-recorded content material you share, it may be exhausting to foretell what precisely your donors will need to know. So allow them to inform you in actual time. We advocate:

• Sharing the date and time beforehand so supporters can plan accordingly;
• Accepting matching present Q&A submissions forward of time by electronic mail or an internet type in your web site;
• Encouraging stay viewers to ask questions in real-time utilizing the streaming web site’s chat or remark capabilities;
• Getting ready your crew with plenty of in-depth assets on company matching present applications (trace: try our webinars, weblog posts, and free eBooks right here);
• Posting your live-stream recording to your web site and/or social media pages, so those that missed the real-time engagement can nonetheless savor the insights shared.

Immediately, most social media platforms supply some form of live-streaming choice⁠—together with YouTube, Fb, Instagram, TikTok, and even Twitter. So decide your favourite platform (ideally one which already sees numerous consumer engagement along with your nonprofit) and go stay!

6. Think about influencers and peer advocates.

Influencer advertising and marketing and peer-to-peer fundraising are primarily based on a shared precept: social proof. Social proof revolves across the psychological discovering that persons are extra prone to assume the actions of others when making their selections.

Fortunately, you need to use this concept in your subsequent matching presents marketing campaign!

Step one in leveraging social proof for matching presents includes finding plenty of people who you’d like to advertise matching presents to your viewers. When donors see different supporters collaborating in matching present initiatives, it may be the inspiration they should become involved themselves.

These so-called “influencers” could be somebody carefully related along with your nonprofit trigger, equivalent to:

• Main donors to your group
• Properly-known board members
• Devoted volunteers
• Properly-connected P2P fundraisers
• Your nonprofit’s government director, president, or CEO

Or, you would possibly even be capable of get a well-liked influencer (or micro-influencer) on board! For the most effective outcomes, search for people who share the same audience to your nonprofit. Plus, current connections to your group or its mission can go a good distance towards making that connection.

No matter who you select to become involved, encourage these people to share details about gift-matching alternatives⁠—equivalent to your new matching present movies⁠—on their private social media pages. Present them with pre-made pictures, steered captions, video scripts or outlines, and extra, empowering champions to advocate for matching presents and encourage others to become involved.

From there, your nonprofit can sometimes re-post the content material to your individual pages (relying on the platform or platforms used), furthering the attain of the posts.

7. Take advantage of free promoting with Google Grants.

One other advertising and marketing technique that you just received’t need to overlook is paid search engine promoting. And don’t be alarmed by the phrase “paid,” both. Google affords nonprofits entry to a beneficiant in-kind grant within the type of free advert area (the equal of as much as $10,000 monthly), often called the Google Advert Grant.

Now, why do you have to promote matching presents to your viewers with the Google Grant? To start with, it’s a free advertising and marketing alternative. In fact you need to profit from it! To not point out, analysis signifies that search ads (equivalent to Google Adverts) have the very best ROI for nonprofit paid promoting⁠—with a median worth of $4.78 for each greenback.

If you take part within the Google Advert Grant, you basically select a web page (or pages) and the key phrases you’d wish to promote for. Then, when a donor or prospect searches the phrase (e.g., matching presents for Cat Rescue Membership), they’ll be met along with your related sponsored content material (i.e., your donation type, devoted match web page, methods to present web page, weblog article) on the high of the outcomes web page.

The Google Grant is an effective way to extend visibility and increase the attain of your group’s fundraising efforts. And when achieved properly, it could drive extra match-eligible donors by the giving⁠—and matching⁠—processes.

Prepared to use for the Google Grant? Take a look at this step-by-step information from the specialists at Getting Consideration.

8. Sustain with shifting tendencies.

With regards to getting donation-matching (or absolutely anything else) “trending” at your group, it’s vital that you’ve got a strong understanding of present tendencies. In spite of everything, tendencies can change pretty rapidly, together with the introduction and growth of recent know-how, altering shopper⁠—and supporter⁠—preferences, and extra.

And as a way to get matching presents trending successfully, there are just a few key sorts of tendencies to think about as you craft your technique. These embrace…

• Advertising and engagement tendencies ⁠— Issues like new social media platforms rising, communications greatest practices (e.g., optimum variety of hashtags per put up), and so on.
• Office giving tendencies ⁠— Issues like which corporations supply matching present applications (to date, it retains trending upward!), new know-how enabling revolutionary matching processes (i.e., auto-submission), and extra

It in the end boils right down to this: simply because one thing is a key pattern as we speak doesn’t imply it should essentially be the identical 5 years from now. So preserve an eye fixed out, make an observation of any vital shifts you see, and reconvene along with your advertising and marketing crew regularly.

And should you’re a Double the Donation consumer, we’ll at all times preserve you updated with the newest tendencies that our crew is seeing! Test again with our weblog, attend upcoming webinars, or discover our on-line Matching Reward Academy to remain on the forefront of matching present innovation.

Subsequent Steps

You’ve heard the guidelines⁠. Now, get began by implementing these tried-and-true practices in your individual group’s technique.

Simply keep in mind: the extra acquainted your viewers is with the thought of matching presents, the extra probably they’re to partake of their employers’ programming. And the extra funding you’ll in the end obtain from company philanthropy alternatives obtainable to your trigger.

Need to study extra? Discover further assets and uncover how one can double your group’s fundraising affect with matching presents: